social roles in African Literature :: essays research papers

During the uprisings of the 1970s, Nadine Gordimer presented a very dreary and pessimistic prophecy to white and black South Africa in July’s People. This prophecy suggested a probable overthrow of the apartheid system which would challenge the currently existing social and racial roles of its inhabitants. Amid the chaos, traditional roles would be overturned and new ones are formed as the Smales accept their servant’s offer of refuge and flee to his village in the bush. Additionally, Zoe Wicomb describes the social and sexual roles that dominate Afrikaaners in You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town. Through a series of connected short stories, Wicomb’s narrator, Frieda Shenton, grows from childhood to womanhood in a community labeled as â€Å"colored.† These colored, people of racially mixed decent, were classified not on ethnic or cultural values, but rather based on skin color and appearance. To gain complete understanding of racial and sexual roles pre sent in the southern part of Africa, one must carefully examine both July’s People and You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town for semblances of an old social structure as the birth of a new nation develops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Wicomb’s You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, we are presented with a young girl, Frieda, transforming into a woman in a rural African village. Frieda is faced with the realization that apartheid has ghettoized the coloreds to live in dreadful conditions. It is through the suppression of this ghetto life along with the suppression of racial and sexual stereotypes that Frieda removes herself and gains her independence. Frieda’s changing sexuality is important for her maturation into a woman. Wicomb presents a sexual hierarchy of women as viewed from a colored perspective. Men can improve their social appearance through education, but for a woman, she must get married. A necessary ingredient for a successful marriage is to be pretty as suggested by Frieda’s mother: â€Å"Poor child†¦ What can a girl do without good looks? Who’ll marry you? We’ll have to put a peg on your nose† (164). Even in Frieda’s teenag e years, she never saw herself as attractive, for she saw herself as â€Å"too plump.† This â€Å"plumpness† is a direct result from her father urging her finish all her meals, as he saw skinniness unattractive. In addition, during the train ride to school, Frieda dreamt of a fairytale in which boys were regarded as princes and her role was not that of Cinderella, but rather that of the pumpkin.

A comparison of Haydn and Beethoven Essay

Franz Josef Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven are two of the greatest classical composers in the history of music, rivaled only by the masterful Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Beethoven, who was much younger than Haydn, moved to Vienna when he was young to study under Haydn. However, due to Haydn’s increasing age, and Beethoven’s increasing temper, the lessons only lasted for a little over a year. The lessons, if only for a short period, clearly left a mark on Beethoven, as can be seen in his compositions. Make no mistake, however, Haydn and Beethoven were not carbon copies of one another. When comparing compositions of the two composers, namely Haydn’s symphony No. 95 in C minor and Beethoven’s symphony No. 5, the two composers differ in various areas, including form, theme, tonality, orchestral structure, and the overall effect their work had on the audience. The only way to truly understand the similarities of these two legendary composers is to delve into their music, comparing them movement-by-movement of the two aforementioned pieces. Only then will we truly understand what makes Haydn and Beethoven so similar, yet so different. The first movement of both pieces start out in their own special way. Haydn’s piece starts out loudly with a quick timpani strike accompanied by the strings, followed by an almost somber sounding melody in C-minor. The second theme of Haydn’s first movement is much more cheerful sounding as it is in C-major. After the exposition is finished, Haydn goes through an eventful developmental period followed by recapitulation. Beethoven’s first movement starts out with the infamous short-short-short-long, which is then repeated. This becomes the motive of Beethoven’s piece, which can found intertwined throughout the entire piece. The intertwining of this single motive creates a consistency throughout the entire symphony; making all four movements feel as one. Although Beethoven may have not intentionally tried to do this, as it was never really done before, it really gives the symphony a special sound as a whole, something that Haydn’s symphony no. 95 lacked. Beethoven’s first movement is sonata form, something that he inherited from Haydn, and starts out in C-minor, just as symphony no. 95 does. The first theme of Symphony no. 5 is made up of imitations and sequences of those first 4 bars, which give off a tense, conflicted feel. The second theme ofBeethoven’s first movement is much more lyrical than the first theme. Here Beethoven completely changes keys to E-flat, rather than simply switching to a major tonality like Haydn does. In the second movement, however, Haydn starts out in E-flat major. The second movement, as per usual, is a much slower piece to contrast the strong, fast, first piece. Haydn uses a series of variations in this movement to keep the audience attentive, switching between major and minor tonalities from time to time. The amount of variation in this second movement is extensive, and really adds a lot to the movement. Beethoven’s second movement is in A-flat major and opens with two themes being presented, which are then varied in alternations. The second theme of this movement incorporates a harmony that features the clarinets, which are present due to Beethoven’s expansion of the orchestra over Haydn. Other instruments that Beethoven uses that Haydn does not in these symphonies are the piccolo, contrabassoon, and trumpets. By expanding his orchestra, Beethoven is able to create a larger, more diverse sound than Haydn is able to do. Beethoven’s second movement includes a 3rd theme that has thirty-second notes played by the strings with a counter phrase being played in the winds simultaneously, and the movement ends loudly in fortissimo, with many crescendos. Although these two composers first movements were somewhat similar in form and style, it is clear in the second movement that were starting to see the similarities morph into differences between the two composers, which continues into the third movement. Haydn’s third movement follows the prototypical minuet, trio, minuet form. However, this is a stylized dance piece, rather than an actual dance piece due to Haydn throwing in little twists that would throw off any attempted ballroom dance. The minuet returns to the original tonality of C-minor, while the trio switches to C-major. The trio form consists completely of even eighth notes played by a solo cello, which Haydn included to satisfy his audience in London. Beethoven does something very different in his third movement, as he forgoes the typical minuet-trio-minuet form for the scherzo-trio-scherzo form. Scherzo, which translates to â€Å"joke† in Italian, is derived from the minuet. The main difference is that scherzo form is played much more playfully and somewhat humorously, like a joke. Beethoven, like Haydn, returns to the starting tonality of C-minor for this movement. At the end, the short-short-short-long motive from the beginning of the symphony returns, and begins to take over the piece as it moves directly into the fourth movement without any hesitation. The fourth movements of these two symphonies also differ in form, as Haydn chooses to go with a rondo form while Beethoven chooses a variation of the sonata form. Haydn’s rondo form allows the music to transition beautifully into the finale. Haydn’s finale consists of loud, furious music including brass fanfares that is starkly different than a normal classical finale. Beethoven’s fourth movement is a fast, unusual sonata that begins immediately following the third movement. His finale is played in C-major, and consists of 29 bars of chords played in fortissimo. These chords allow Beethoven to conclude the symphony by ending the tension that has been furiously building throughout the entire piece. Beethoven’s incredible finale, as with Haydn’s, are perfect endings to these two monumental symphonies that surely leave a lasting effect on their respective audiences. As can be seen throughout Haydn’s symphony no. 95 and Beethoven’s symphony no. 5, the two composers were very similar, yet very different from one another. Beethoven uses a lot of what he learned from his time with Haydn, but is able to expand on those ideals and create something of his own being. His ideals, however, are soundly built off of the foundations that Haydn paved for him, which is a benefit from being the student rather than the teacher. Even through all of the differences in the two symphonies, such as Beethoven’s expansion of his orchestra or Haydn’s refusal to stray form minuet form in the third movement, these two composers share one main thing in common, and that is their ability to create beautiful pieces of art that won’t be soon forgotten in the minds, and the hearts, of their listeners.

Bowling for Columbine Is Not a Documentary Essay

Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine’, the film which won an Oscar for best documentary, is not in fact a documentary, but rather more of a persuasive essay in film format. The widely accepted definition of ‘documentary’ is a film emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, and minimal editting, and ‘Bowling for Columbine’ does not show any of these characteristics. Instead of presenting a neutral view of the issues, it is clearly biased and purposely manipulates the viewers into agreeing with Moore’s opinions. In the process, Moore frequently uses incorrect statistics and information. In some cases fabricated evidence is also inserted. Documentaries should have close to no editing of the evidence, however in some cases Moore uses sly editing techniques to deceive the viewers. A prominent example of this can be seen in Charlton Heston’s speech. It appears as though the NRA president is holding protest rallies in response to the gun related incidents in Columbine and Flint Michigan, holding a musket up and proclaiming â€Å"I have only five words for you: ‘from my cold dead hands’† whilst the crowd cheers. Moore makes a point of cutting from scenes of heartbroken victims to Heston’s ‘arrogant’ speeches. The purpose of this is to demonize Heston, and also all the members of the NRA. He wants the audience to perceive all gun lovers as heartless, selfish monsters. However on closer observation, it turns out Moore simply grabbed segments from Heston’s former speeches, splicing them together to form a new one, completely different from what the president had intended. Documentaries are meant to lay out the truth, whilst here the film has morphed the truth into a lie instead. Going back to the definition, Bowling for Columbine again falls short of being a documentary through it’s failure to include only correct, factual evidence. Moore chooses to use incorrect ‘facts’; the national gun murder statistics that seem abnormally high are sourced from the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and is a combination of gun related and non gun related incidents, so is therefore irrelevant to what the documentary was trying to say. The rockets shown in the Lockheed Martin sequences and being driven though the streets of Littleton in the night are in fact space launch vehicles, not weapons of mass destruction as Moore claims. These â€Å"facts†, false in nature, are again put there to distort the truth and make the viewers believe that things are more horrifying than they actually are, so that they are more susceptible to Moore’s mental manipulation. One of the fundamentals of a documentary is that it must present facts, and obviously â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† has not fulfilled that requirement. Throughout â€Å"Bowling for Columbine†, Moore presents an extremely biased view of events. Moore does everything in his power to manipulate viewers into see things from his eyes. Many are many persuasive techniques are used to achieve this. The film horrifies the audience with confronting scenes from the 9/11 attacks and the Columbine shooting. ‘A Brief History of America’ makes people see Americans as cowardly and pathetic. Charlton Heston’s ‘speech’ angers the audience and makes them turn against gun lovers. There are many more examples, however the point is that documentaries should be neutral and informative, yet the film actively tries to force the viewers to a narrow-minded conclusion. In summary, although â€Å"Bowling for Columbine† may be a creative persuasive film, it is most certainly not a documentary. Not only does the film fail to adhere in any way to the definition of a traditional documentary, it largely utilises deceptive techniques to push Moore’s artificial and contrived point of view.

Criminal Justice in the United States essays

Criminal Justice in the United States essays Criminal justice in the United States is an expensive business. It is the only country in the west that routinely sentences offenders to prison terms longer than two years: 39 percent of state prisoners in 1991 had been sentenced to ten years or longer. It is also the only country in the west that, on an average day, holds more than 125 per 100,000 of its residents in jail or prison: on a typical day in 1998, nearly 700 per 100,000 Americans were behind bars. (Hallett according to many, the US criminal justice system is doing far less than enough; according to the US National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, "There is a criminal justice process through which each offender passes from the police, to the courts, and back unto the streets. The inefficiency, fall-out, and failure of purpose during this process is notorious." (Hallett Contemporary policies concerning crime and punishment are not only among the most draconian among wealthy nations, they are also the harshest in American history. No other Western country continues use the death penalty except the United States: 3300 prisoners were on death row in 1997 and more people were executed76than in any year since 1955. Capital punishment has been abolished by all the big democracies except the United States, Japan and India. Additionally, many emerging democracies in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America have also abandoned it. Capital punishment in the United States is derided by critics in Europe for being antediluvian and barbaric. (Economist, 5/15/99) Cesare Beccaria, an Italian philosopher and reformer, is considered the father of modern criminal justice; he famously decried older, more severe punishments in Europe in 1764 when he published his seminal work "On Crimes and Punishments.'' Beccaria was the first to believe in the reformati...

Trurl’s Machine Essay Essay Example

Trurl’s Machine Essay Essay Example Trurl’s Machine Essay Paper Trurl’s Machine Essay Paper â€Å"Trurl’s Machine† is the narrative an discoverer who makes an eight-story thought machine. The narrative is an effort to portray the censoring of the people by a Communist government. Lem does this through the usage of character. secret plan and symbolism. The characters in â€Å"Trurl’s Machine† have really different personalities. First. we meet Trurl. the builder. He is a scientist and an discoverer. but he has an artistic side. This he shows by giving the machine face. He has a speedy pique and no forbearance for stupidity. He besides is house in his beliefs as he demonstrates at the terminal of the narrative when the machine is seeking to acquire him to give in. â€Å"†Never! † roared Trurl. as if he no longer cared what happened. †¦ ( Lem ) . † Klapaucius is Trurl’s friend and challenger. He is besides a builder. but a much more light hearted one. He is ever looking on the bright side and he neer shies off from escapade. He besides has a speedy humor and is able to set a amusing spin on most things. The machine is described by Klapaucius. â€Å"Not merely is it sensitive. dense. and obstinate. but speedy to take discourtesy. and believe me. with such an copiousness of qualities. there all kinds of things you might make ( Lem ) ! † It. like Trurl. is speedy to anger. Lem uses the secret plan of the narrative to acquire his message across. In the beginning. the machine declares that 2+2=7. When it meets opposition in the signifier of Trurl and Klapaucius. who mock it. the machine becomes enraged and escapes its foundations in order to trail its tormenters. Here the tormenters become the laden. The machine goes on a violent disorder ; it destroys the town that Klapaucius and Trurl fell in and continues to trail them up the mountain. In its choler. the machine causes excessively much indirect harm and ends up destructing itself. There is besides much symbolism in this narrative. The machine is meant to typify the Communist party. It tries to ban the sentiments of Trurl and Klapaucius. chiefly. that 2+2=4. Trurl and Klapaucius are the laden citizens enduring under the Communist government. They are persecuted for their beliefs. The landslide symbolizes the point at which a population can no longer stand their oppressors and must move. The oppressors go excessively far and do their ain death. â€Å"Trurl’s Machine successfully portrays the battle of laden people against those who would ban their beliefs. Lem was able to utilize character. secret plan and symbolism to accomplish this consequence. The narrative shows that if the oppressed base up to their oppressors. there is a great opportunity that they will predominate.

Stare Decisis Definition - Honor Past Precedents

Stare Decisis Definition - Honor Past Precedents Stare decisis (Latin: stand by the decision) is a legal phrase referring to the obligation of courts to honor past precedents.There are essentially two types of stare decisis. One is the obligation that trial courts have to honor the precedents of higher courts. A local trial court in Mississippi cannot legally convict a person for flag desecration, for example, because of a higher court- the U.S. Supreme Court- ruled in Texas v. Johnson (1989) that a flag desecration is a form of constitutionally protected speech.The other concept of stare decisis is the obligation of the U.S. Supreme Court to honor past precedents. When chief justice appointee John Roberts was questioned before the U.S. Senate, for example, it was widely believed that he does not accept the concept of an implicit constitutional right to privacy, upon which the Courts decision in Roe v. Wade (1973) legalizing abortion was based. But he implied that he would uphold Roe despite any personal reservations due to his com mitment to stare decisis. Justices have different levels of commitment to stare decisis. Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative jurist who often sides with Chief Justice Roberts, does not believe that the Supreme Court is bound by stare decisis at all.Stare decisis doctrine isnt always cut and dry when it comes to protecting civil liberties. While it can be helpful concept vis-a-vis the preservation of rulings that protect civil liberties, excessive commitment to stare decisis would have prevented such rulings from being handed down in the first place. Proponents of civil liberties hope that conservative justices support precedents set by the anti-segregation ruling Brown v. Board of Education (1954) on the basis of stare decisis, for example, but if the justices who handed down Brown had felt similarly about the separate but equal pro-segregation precedent set in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), stare decisis would have prevented Brown from being handed down at all. Pronunciation: star-ray dee-sigh-sus Also Known As: adherence to precedent; stare decisis is also similar, albeit not identical, to the concept of judicial restraint Common Misspellings: stare dicisis, stare decises

Death Penalty in the united States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Death Penalty in the united States - Essay Example Capital punishment is essential in the legal system because punishment should be proportioned to the evil of the offense. Retribution becomes a moral obligation. The offender is to be killed by the state only because he brings death upon himself; but this dead man with a beating heart is to be treated decently right up to the point of gentle termination because he also remains a person, a rational agent of free will. Murderers had previously agreed to submit to the rule of civil authority and partake of its privileges and its responsibilities by engaging with society. Those who violate the laws have broken a trust with the citizenry, which, by exacting a penalty, seeks compensation for an act considered an affront to the purpose for which submission to civil authority was commenced (Bigel 46). The very high ratio of condemned prisoners to executions in many states-200 to 1 rather than the 40 to 1 in many northern jurisdictions- has meant that there is no longer a clear and proximate relationship between death sentences and executions. More than seven out of ten respondents regard the removal of the threat that "the killer might kill again" as an important benefit of the death penalty, but 68 percent regret that the current system results in "mistaken executions." More than six of ten respondents are concerned about the jurisdictional differences in death sentences and executions, but six of ten also think the system provides "closure" (Colson 27). This set of profoundly mixed feelings about the death penalty suggests that public responses to death penalty surveys might vary importantly by the context and the wording of questions. By contrast, the abolitionists see the impact of executions as a statement of pervasive importance about the relationship between the government and the individual. Abolitionists in the United States view capital punishment as a fundamental political issue; proponents usually assert that the question is neither fundamental nor political. From a Biblical view, Charles W. Colson, author of the essay The Death Penalty is Morally Just, notes that to be punished "is to be treated with dignity as human beings created in the Image of God" (Colson 62). The death penalty, as a punishment for murder, reaffirms a criminal's humanity by taking on responsibility for their actions. It is contrary to the idea that execution degrades a convict sentenced to death. According to van den Haag (1994), "[P]hilosophers, such as Immanuel Kant and G.F.W. Hegel have insisted that, when deserved, execution, far from degrading the executed convict, affirms his humanity by affirming his rationality and his responsibility for his actions"( 257). In spite of benefits and advantages of death penalty, there is a social pressure against this punishment. Still, the death penalty had become an exceptional punishment in all Western democracies by the start of the twentieth century, reserved for only the most serious of offenses, rarely imposed, and regarded as particularly problematic. In all the developed nations, other methods of punishment had replaced the executioner as the principal punishment for serious offenses. Executions remained a